Biographical Data :

Name :

Fariduddin Ganjshaker

Period :

1173 - 1265

Biographical detail :

A celebrated Sufi of Chistiyya order.

Khawaja Fariduddin was one of the most famous Sufi saints and was a follower of Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti (1141 – 1236), one of the most outstanding figures in the annals of Islamic mysticism and founder of the Chistiyya order in Ajmer, India and whose firm faith in wahdat al-wajud (Unity of Being) provided the necessary ideological support to his mystic mission to bring about emotional integration of the people amongst whom he lived.

The central principles that became characteristics of the Chistiyya order are based on Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti’s many teachings and practices. They lay stress on renunciation of material goods; strict regime of self-discipline and personal prayer; participation in sama as a legitimate means to spiritual transformation; reliance on either cultivation or unsolicited offerings as means of basic subsistence; independence from rulers and the state, including rejection of monetary and land grants; generosity to others, particularly, through sharing of food and wealth, and tolerance and respect for religious differences.

Moinuddin Chisti, in other words, interpreted religion in terms of human service and exhorted his disciples “to develop river-like generosity, sun-like affection and earth-like hospitality.” The highest form of devotion, according to him, was “to redress the misery of those in distress – to fulfil the needs of the helpless and to feed the hungry.”

Khawaja Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakir, who was the disciple of another well known Sufi, Khawaja Qutbuddin Baktiyar Kaki, is buried at Ajudhian, a place commonly called Pakpattan, in Multan, Pakistan.